256 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



relating to age, residence in the commune and consent of parents, and 

 the removal of these restrictions was actually followed by a large in- 

 crease in the number of marriages (from an average of 281,000 per 

 year prior to 1896 to 323,000 since 1907), but there is much complaint 

 that the formalities still required and the legal fees exacted are exces- 

 sive and constitute a real hindrance to marriage. But, as I have re- 

 marked, the number of marriages is already comparatively large in 

 France and there has been a wholesome increase from year to year. In 

 all probability, therefore, such a remedy would not produce any ap- 

 preciable results. 



The modification of the naturalization laws with a view to facili- 

 tating the acquisition of French nationality and thereby encouraging 

 immigration has also been advocated as a means of increasing the pop- 

 ulation. The existing requirements are too rigid, says M. Leroy-Beau- 

 lieu; France, he thinks, could well afford to naturalize 50,000 foreign- 

 ers a year since the density of her population is far less than that of 

 Germany, Italy and Belgium, and by thus encouraging immigration the 

 country would find a new source from which its declining population 

 could be recruited. Reform of the inheritance laws so as to allow the 

 father a right of free testamentary disposition, as is the rule in other 

 countries of Europe, has been widely urged in recent years. The exist- 

 ing provisions of the civil code, as I have said, compel the division of 

 the inheritance when there is more than one child, and the general re- 

 luctance among small proprietors of having their estates split up into 

 parcels conduces to the voluntary limitation of their offspring. All 

 those who have investigated the question are of the opinion that the 

 proposed change would result in a marked increase of the birth rate. 

 M. Bertillon goes further and proposes a more heroic remedy, namely, 

 the treating of single children in respect to an inheritance as if they 

 had brothers and sisters; he would, for example, impose a tax of 30 per 

 cent, on the inheritance when there are two children and 60 per cent, 

 when there is but one. In other words, where there is but a single 

 child he would have the state confiscate that portion of the inheritance 

 which would go to the other children if there were any. 



A more reasonable proposal of this kind has been made by Colonel 

 Toutee, namely, that the law should regulate the inheritance according 

 to the size of the families of the heirs. Thus if two heirs are left, one 

 of whom has three children and the other none, the estate should be 

 divided into five parts, of which four should go to the first heir and 

 one to the second. 



The suggestion has often been made that the state should offer 

 bounties for the production of children and numerous bills have been 

 introduced into the parliament for this purpose. One of the more 

 recent was a proposal by M. Messimy, a former minister of war, pro- 

 viding for the payment of a bounty of $100 for every child above the 



